A vehicle registration plate is typically a metal or plastic plate attached to a vehicle such as a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies the vehicle within the issuing regions database. Whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or person varies by the issuing agency. Also depending on the agency the vehicle registration plate may be called a registration plate, a license plate, a number plate or a tag. Most state governments require a license plate to be attached to both the front and rear of the vehicle, while others only require a license plate to be attached to the rear of the vehicle. In addition, some jurisdictions require other types of identification for vehicles that are not required to have license plates. One example of these vehicles would be slow moving vehicles such as tractors or horse drawn carriages. With these vehicles, it is typically required to display a triangle on the back of the vehicle to indicate that the vehicle is slow moving. The license plate, on a road vehicle such as a car or truck, is typically placed on the vehicle's bumper or trunk lid, which includes an illumination means for making the license plate plainly visible at night. Over the years many designs for illuminated license plate holders or license plate toppers have been proposed. Such license plate holders are desirable because they make the license plate more conspicuous and serve the public's need for conspicuous identification of vehicles at night when identification may be difficult. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,890 discloses a topper style rear license plate that has a string of lights disposed around the perimeter. The license plate topper lights are typically connected to the running light circuit of the vehicle and operate in conjunction therewith by receiving electrical power from the vehicle.
Trailers are generally non-powered vehicles pulled by a powered vehicle for the transportation of goods or materials. In most states, a trailer being over a predetermined length is required to be registered and titled. The trailer must then have a license plate attached to the rear of the trailer to be plainly visible to other motorists. The license plate and/or license plate holder is generally attached to the backside of the trailer on the lowermost corner or the centermost portion of the trailer's frame so as not to swing during motion of the trailer. The low mounting position is utilized to allow easy access to the storage area of the trailer. The owner of the trailer is required to make sure that the letters, numerals, printing, writing, and other identification marks upon the license plate are clear and distinct and free from defacement, mutilation, grease, and other obscuring matter at all times. The owner is also responsible to make sure that the license plate is illuminated after dusk. Power for illuminating the license plate is generally transferred through a wiring harness extending from the towing vehicle to the trailer.
A downside to attaching the license plates and/or license plate holders to the lower rear portion of the trailer is that they are subject to harsh environmental elements. In use, trailers are commonly used for the transportation of vessels, vehicles, goods, tractors, campers, or the like, all of which weigh substantially on the trailer and lower the trailer's frame, thereby bringing the license plate holder closer to the ground and increasing the possibility of scraping, mutilation, and destruction. Other circumstances which increase the possibility of the license plate being damaged or torn off include road conditions such as bumps, ramps, driveways, railroad crossings and the like. In some circumstances, the trailer may be hauling a vessel into a saltwater environment; thereby the trailer must enter and leave the saltwater environment subjecting the illuminated license plate holder and wiring harness to saltwater and thus corrosion. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a trailer owner to be unaware that the license plate or wiring harness has been either damaged, disabled or torn from the trailer during travel. The damage or disablement may subject the owner to fines for non-compliance with laws and ordinances.
Thus what is needed in the art is an illuminated license plate holder which is not mounted on a trailer frame and does not receive power from the towing vehicle. The illuminated license plate holder should be constructed and arranged for attachment to a remote location that may be separate from the trailer so as not to subject the license plate and/or holder to the scraping, mutilation and destruction typically associated with trailers. The illuminated license plate holder should include a mounting system that is easily adapted for use with various trailers and vehicles, and particularly to watercraft. The illuminated license plate holder should include a self contained electrical system having a plurality of light sources powered by a battery system charged by a solar panel for illumination of the license plate at night.